Vision
by Noitavlas
Summary: Severus Snape adopted a strange child from St. Catherine Orphanage when he moved in to a place near the Malfoy's. AU/non-magic
1. Chapter 1

**Title**: "Vision"

**Author**: Noitavlas

**Disclaimer:**The characters of the story belong to J.K. Rowling.

**Warning:**Some of the characters are not as they should be (meaning, they do not act like they should) to fit the story. This is also an alternate universe story in which they use no magic.

**Length****of****Story:**Tentative.

**(A/N):**Happy late Halloween, guys~ I just had to get this out of my head before updating A.N.A.T.C.

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><p><em>I saw him sitting at the corner of the room. He was just a boy… a poor little creature with shaking shoulders and trembling fingers. He didn't speak like the others in the room with him. He watches behind thick, hideous, round glasses and observes.<em>

_There was a moment that he caught my line of vision and held it._

_His mouth was moving but I couldn't make out the words._

_I had wondered then… if he was insane._

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><p>"Here we are, Harry." Severus tried to sound cheerful for the little boy while berating himself for his rash decision. "Come now, don't be shy. This is your new home."<p>

As he watched the green-eyed 4-year-old took a tentative step forward, he sighed. While he understood that Lucius and Narcissa had set their eyes on what's best for him, he couldn't help but doubt their decisions. "Are you hungry?" he asked, but was ignored.

The toddler silently traced the coffee table with his tiny index finger in child-like wonder.

"Well, I'm going to fix us something to eat." Severus announced as he walked towards the kitchen.

Skillfully ignoring the horridly bare décor of the hallway, he set himself to make grilled cheese sandwiches for both of them.

He couldn't believe that he had just adopted a child. Harry, his name was said the nun who ran the orphanage, just Harry. Found standing at the gates of the establishment, staring at one of the windows. He barely speaks… and barely blinks. Severus let out another sigh as he heated up the pan. The boy was outstandingly well-behaved. He does as he was told, he keeps to himself and never moves unless given permission. The thought gave him a start as he lowered the flames and hastened to where he had left the boy. As expected, he stood where he last saw him.

Not knowing whether to be glad or be disturbed at the child's lack of curiosity of his surroundings he gave the boy a small smile, which was returned in an even smaller twitch.

"You may explore the house if you'd like. I just moved in so be careful of boxes, alright?"

The two stared at each other for a moment before Harry blinked and slowly made his way towards the stairs. Severus followed him with his eyes making sure that he was able to climb the steps without difficulty before walking back into the kitchen.

The boy was small for his age… very small. He looked more like a two-year-old than that of a four.

Turning back to the food he was making, he grimaced. He would have to call his best friends to let them know of his… mistake. Though he didn't have the heart to take the boy back to the orphanage, he didn't have anyone to look after the boy while he was away on business trips. It wasn't often, but it certainly happens every now and then.

A father, he smiled to himself, he was a father to one little weird boy. He chuckled at the thought. He'd rather like that idea. It could be excused as hereditary.

His thought was disturbed when he felt someone watching him.

Turning to the door, he saw Harry holding a black notebook to his chest. He smiled easily at the boy this time and gestured for him to come closer.

Harry did so with little reluctance and soon he was lifted up and seated on a chair at the breakfast bar.

"What do you have there?" Severus asked as he placed the plate of sandwich in front of the boy.

He watched as Harry parted with the notebook with hesitation and just knew that the child wanted it.

Taking the notebook he turned a few blank pages before observing the back. He rolled his eyes when he saw the engraved name at the bottom before giving it back to Harry, who seemed surprised.

"It's alright, you can keep it." Severus smiled again when the child took it slowly. "It was from an old friend. Tom gave it to me when we were at high school before he went away."

"Where?" Coal eyes widened at the soft, scratchy, small voice that resounded from the toddler. It was the first word he had ever said to his adopted father since they left the orphanage.

Smiling wide at his achievement, Severus poured Harry a drink of milk. "He went away to America. He lives there now."

There was something in the child's eyes that made him shudder. He couldn't think of the word associated with such a look though, not when he was hungry anyway. Taking a bite out of his sandwich, he looked to the ceiling in thought. At the corner of his eyes he saw the child look up as well. He smirked inwardly at the thought that the child's display of curiosity—to which he thought there was none at first.

"I should call Lucius and Narcissa." Severus stated, bringing his gaze back to the child.

Harry was still staring at the ceiling with a blank expression, so the newly dubbed father continued. "You'll need a wardrobe, maybe a few toys if you'd behave." That caught the boy's attention.

"Toy?" Harry asked just as softly as his first word, but not as scratchy.

"Yes." Severus smiled kindly at the child and couldn't help feeling smug with himself, he was getting a hang of things it seems.

When Harry turned away from him he frowned, which only deepen when he heard the probably longest sentence he'll ever hear from the boy.

"No toy, bad. Give to Diddy, good."

"Surely you'd want a toy yourself?" Severus tried again.

Harry met his gaze and raised the notebook he was holding in a tight grip. "Tom."

The man nodded, mentally listing 'pens' under the things to buy.

"We should go then." Severus stood up and placed his plate on the sink. Moving to do the same with the child's, he paused. The food was untouched, even the milk. "I'll call the Malfoy's. You finish your sandwich and milk, yes?"

Harry nodded slowly and Severus smiled encouragingly before ruffling the boy's hair. "Good boy." The man quickly went to the living room to find the phone, thus missing the look of shock on the boy's face.

Severus quickly dialed the Malfoy's phone number and waited till someone picked it up.

"Hello, Malfoy's residence—" a regal female voice spoke from the other line.

"Cissy! Hey, it's Severus—"

"SEVVY! You suddenly vanished at the party I thought someone kidnapped you!" The man cringed.

"Sorry about that, but hey, I need your help."

"Help?"

"Yes, help."

"Severus Tobias Snape, what did you do?"

"I, what? No, I didn't do anything! I mean, of course I did something, but not like that—" Narcissa laughed at her friend's stuttering.

"Hush now, Sev, just tell me what got you in such a mess."

"I adopted a child."

"Excuse me?"

"I said, I adopted a child."

"Where from?"

"The same where you found him."

"Oh, Severus, that's wonderful! What's his name? What does he look like? How old is he?" Severus chuckled at his friend's enthusiasm.

"How about we just meet up? I need help with buying his wardrobe."

"We'll be there in 30 minutes!"

Without so much as a goodbye, the line was cut and Severus was left gaping at the wall with a dial tone. "Crazy woman." He muttered before placing the phone back and walking towards the kitchen.

Harry sat where he last left him, this time his sandwich was shredded in pieces and the milk was gone. "Would you like more milk?" the man asked as he gathered the plate and glass.

The boy shook his head negatively, that's when Severus noticed that the boy was looking up the ceiling again. "We'll see about redecorating the place." He muttered as he placed the plate and glass on the sink and began washing them clean.

When he was done, he turned back to Harry and almost had a heart-attack at what he saw. There were drops of red on his unconcerned face, while he looked calmly up at the ceiling.

"Harry!" the boy's head snapped towards his direction. Severus marched up to the boy and immediately assessed damage.

To his surprise and relief, there was none. "Where did that come from?" he asked no one in particular, but Harry answered for him by pointing up.

Feeling trepidation, Severus slowly turned to look up while imagining anything that could be sticking on the ceiling. He almost sagged in relief when he found nothing but peeling paint.

"Now, Harry, that wasn't nice." He chided gently when he turned back to the boy.

"Let's get you cleaned up, okay? The Malfoy's will be here to pick us up for shopping." He said as he lifted the child up from the chair and placed him on the floor.

"Let's just forget about this and try to enjoy the day, hm? I bet you'll find a friend in little Malfoy. He's a year older than you and he's a nice kid."

He held the little boy's hand in his as he led him up to the bathroom, while he continued to tell him about a boy name Draco and his antics.

All the time, Harry's gaze was in the ceiling.

Severus pretended not to notice.


	2. Chapter 2

**(A/N): Wow, that was better feedback than I thought. Thank you, you guys~**

He wasn't really nervous about his best friends meeting his new son. He wasn't even nervous about his son meeting **their** son. After all, Draco was his godchild.

Severus watched as the small blond scrutinized the smaller raven haired boy in such an obvious manner that made both his best friends grin in encouragement.

"You're small!" Draco piped up with his own grin, one that matched his parents'.

The dark haired man stifled his laugh as his charge glared at the blond boy. Too adorable for words it seems, as Narcissa's grin brightened while smacking her husband's arm with delight.

"Don't worry. I don't like big people, too." The little blond whispered to the smaller boy rather loudly before grabbing the smaller boy's hand. "Come on! I brought my toys in the car, we can play there."

Harry casted one last look towards his adopted father before letting himself be dragged towards the Malfoy's car.

Severus chuckled at the boy's torn look before he felt two pairs of arms on both his sides grabbing him with no chance of escape. "One needs no test to know that you three really are a family." He groaned as he himself was dragged from his new home's porch.

"Oh, Severus he is such a sweetheart! You've got to let us keep him from time to time!" Narcissa nearly screamed in his ear in excitement, making Lucius laugh uneasily.

"Pardon my wife, dear friend. When you called, she and Draco were eating Reese."

"That's quite alright, Lucius. I wasn't the one blind enough to marry her." Severus snorted when the Lady Malfoy scowled darkly at him.

"Speaking of which, when will YOU find a girl for yourself, Sevvy?" Narcissa retaliated.

"Not now." Severus nearly growled, it was a touchy subject for him. "I'd rather focus on Harry first."

"Why focus on one thing—" Lucius started but was interrupted with a snarl from the dark haired man.

"He's not a thing! He's a person."

"Easy, Sevvy. He didn't mean it. We both know how insensitive Luc can be." Narcissa soothed, glaring at her husband.

Their attention was caught when Draco laughed boyishly at something Harry did. Unfortunately, it involved a cat, and old man and an accident. The raven haired boy stood mortified at one side, blushing to the roots of his hair.

In an instant the two male adults ran towards the old man in concern. Narcissa was left helping Draco to calm a nearly hyperventilating raven haired boy.

The old man was quick to assure them that nothing was broken before promptly picking up his cat and standing (with the help of Lucius and Severus).

"Oh!" Narcissa exclaimed when she recognized the old man. "You're Albus Dumbledore!"

The old man turned to her with a warm smile. "That's quite right, dear."

"What happened?" Lucius asked as he kept an arm extended towards the fragile elderly.

"Well," Albus started. "—me and Minnie here (he raised the gray tabby cat a little) went out for a walk since the house got too depressing. It was never the same since my dear Minerva passed away." The old man zoned out for a while before Lucius cleared his throat. "O-oh, I'm sorry, I was lost in thought for a moment. Anyway, as I was saying, we went for a walk and we decided to greet our new neighbors." The old man gave them a twinkling smile.

Severus could already feel a great deal of dislike for the twinkling but wisely kept shut, instead he turned to his son to ask him of his hand in the situation. He had to blink a couple of times to clear his head when he saw his child was hiding behind Draco while staring at the old man with little disguised fear. It made him wonder if Harry was afraid of brightly colored old men, seeing as Albus was wearing a magenta set of pajamas under a bright purple bathrobe with mismatched shades of orange socks in polished leather shoes. The old man also has a long white hair… and beard.

Before he could ask, the little Malfoy answered for them.

"It wasn't Harry's fault, really. We were having a race and I pushed my toy car too soon. He going to get it, but before he could get there Mr. Tumbledore stepped on it and slip."

"DRACO!" Narcissa caught the little blond's ear. "I taught you better than that! Apologize to Mr. Dumbledore at once!"

Suddenly the old man was laughing. "Tumbledore! Ohoh! That's a good one, child!"

Everyone stared at him as if he was mad, before laughing awkwardly.

"Well, I'm sorry about my son's insult, but we best be going now." Lucius decided to cut in.

Albus waved at them with a jolly grin before placing his cat down on the cement and began walking towards the small park with the feline smartly following beside him.

"What a weird old man." Narcissa mumbled to herself as she watched him go.

After that incident, everything went smoothly.

Draco hardly ever part from Harry, the smaller boy's hands were always held by the tiny blond, if not, Harry would be gripping the bottom edge of the Malfoy Heir's shirt. Lots of pictures were taken, courtesy of the Lady Malfoy who hadn't forgotten to bring her digital camera.

They bought Harry several shirts, trousers, jumpers, pajamas, and trainers until the next week when Narcissa would be taking Draco and Harry out before the boys' first ever slumber party.

Severus had to blink when this was announced since he had never seen Harry opened his mouth, only nodding and shaking his head when asked by the little Malfoy.

He assumed that Draco forced the younger boy to play with him, but when he confronted the little blond to tell him that Harry still needs to adjust, the little raven haired boy had surprised him by saying one word.

"Please?" And who ever had the heart to say no to the face that accompanied that word will probably be plagued with guilty nightmares for the rest of their lives.

So he accepted, on the condition that Harry would call him when he gets to the Malfoys, when he's going to sleep and when he's ready to go home. The Malfoy's were only too happy to hear at least one word from the little boy.

They finished their shopping very late in the afternoon, near evening. Lucius drove the car towards Severus' empty drive, and parked carefully before everyone filed into the house for a cup of tea.

Severus immediately went to the kitchen, Lucius and Narcissa followed him.

Draco closed the door using his left hand since Harry had not let go of his right. He led the boy towards the stairs. "Uncle Sev said you haven't picked a room yet. Do you want me to help you?"

When Harry nodded, he grinned and carefully led then up the stairs.

When they came to the second landing, a cool breeze passed through them making Draco shiver slightly. He felt Harry hide behind him all the while gripping his shirt from the back. "Hey, it's nothing." He cooed, remembering when his mother used to do the same to him when he was younger. "Just the wind, see?" he pointed at the dark corridor, which apparently was the wrong thing to do.

As soon as Harry's eyes followed his finger, he started shaking.

"Hey, no, it's okay." Draco soothed again. "You must not like the dark, huh? Me, too." He looked around and saw the light switch. "Let's turn on the lights, so that we won't be scared anymore, okay?" Admitting that he was scared of the dark did two things to their surroundings.

It happened right after the other did, either way it left both of the children in a panicked state. A door from the dark corridor closed with a loud bang causing them to jump with a start, when a gust of cold wind swept passed them, the raven haired boy grabbed the blond and pulled him towards the stairs.

When they reached the bottom, the adults arrived looking frantic themselves.

"What happened?" Lucius demanded looking at Draco and was alarmed at how pale his son was. Turning to look at Harry, he saw that tiny boy latched himself unto Severus' leg and was shaking. He, too, was pale.

"I think one of the windows is open, the wind must've shut the door closed." Severus explained as he gently pried his son from his leg before picking him up, cradling him to his chest. Almost instantly after his explanation, Harry's grip around his neck tightened as though in fear that his father would go up and check said window… with him.

"Hush now, boys, it's alright." Narcissa gathered Draco to her, picking him much as Severus did to Harry, before petting his hair. "Really Sev, you really should put more lights here. It's very dark! I can hardly see anything, no wonder the boys got scared!" she reprimanded her best friend before turning back to her son. "Are you okay, sweetie?" the small blond nodded before giving her a tight hug. She placed him back down on his feet and smiled at him.

"Are we going now?" Draco asked.

Lucius smiled at his son before nodding. When the small blond looked at Harry, Narcissa grinned. "We'll give you a moment to say your goodbyes, okay? Remember you still have to clean your room if you want Harry to have that slumber party with you."

Draco smiled hesitantly at his mother before nodding.

Severus lowered himself to the ground so that Draco could reach Harry, who refused to be let down by clinging tighter to him. What Severus heard made him frown in confusion, but disregarded it for the sake of calming Harry down.

After that he led the Malfoy's to the door, still carrying Harry and said their goodbyes.

As the night grew darker, the more scared Harry became and refused to let go of Severus. It had taken him opening all the lights in the house before Harry actually calmed down. Even then, he refused to be parted with his father, so by the end of the night saw Harry sleeping on Severus' bed with his father watching him closely.

He was glad to actually see that Harry trusted him, but he wanted to know what was making the child react like so. He hadn't forgotten the earlier incident and wondered if it was somehow connected. Just before he closed his eyes, he remembered the children's exchange in parting.

"_Are you okay?" Draco asked quietly, forgetting that his friend's father was in between them._

_Harry shook his head no, but the blond smiled catching the smaller hand in his. "Don't worry, I'm sure it's not them, it's very far away."_

"_Don't go." Harry whimpered as he clutched at his father's shirt and Draco's hand._

"_I'll call you tomorrow, okay? Do you still remember—?"_

"_No—"_

"_We'll see each other again next week, don't worry. It's not them."_

"_But—" Harry's grip shook. "—what if it is?"_

_Severus waited for Draco's answer while he rubbed Harry's back comfortingly, willing the child to relax, which the Harry was doing so, slowly. His actions however were for naught, for as soon as Draco answered, Harry tensed up._

"_Then you have to be careful."_


End file.
